Never Is Enough
by Amber4
Summary: Chapter 4 up. A fic told from the point of view of Ron. It documents what happens during the beginning of their fifth year.
1. Just Another Day

A/N: Well, hullo there! Glad you decided to stop by. This is my first HP fanfic and I'm rather excited about it. I've got rough drafts for the next five chapters, so hopefully things will move along pretty quickly. If you wish to review, I'd be very grateful. Don't worry about mincing words or being polite; I'm a big girl, I can take criticism! So, go ahead, rip this apart, I dare you! 

Oh, by the way, does anyone recognize where I got the title "Never Is Enough"? Quick hint, think about songs written by rock bands. 

Disclaimer: Nothing in this belongs to me. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling who is neither a god or goddess, but a simple mortal. May we all follow her example. 

Never Is Enough - Chapter 1: Just Another Day 

_"Die fear;  
For I need the strength you steal,  
the focus you demand,  
the solitude your absence brings."  
_

Ron Weasley's day did not begin well at all. 

He woke suddenly and completely out of sleep with a gasp. Blinking his eyes a few times, Ron glanced around the room. It took him a moment to realize that the rest of the beds were empty and that the sun was filtering through the window in an odd angle. Making the mental connection that he had overslept, he cursed and tumbled out of bed. 

Flinging his trunk open, Ron searched for some robes that were halfway clean. Finally finding one that only had a small blue-colored stain, he quickly slipped it over his head. Stuffing his feet into a pair of sneakers, Ron found his book satchel and swung it over his shoulder. Grabbing his wand off the nightstand and stuffing it in his robe's pockets, Ron raced out of the dormitory praying that he wasn't too late for a little breakfast. 

Luckily, he wasn't. He made it to the Great Hall with enough time for a bowl of porridge. Panting slightly, Ron slid into a seat next to Harry and hurriedly grabbed a bowl from the center of the table. "For bloody sakes, Harry, you could've woken me up!" he growled as he seized his spoon and began to eat. 

"I did. What you said, and this is a direct quote, was 'Geroff me, Har-ee, I'm schleeping'. Or at least I think that's what you said. I couldn't tell from around your pillow." Harry grinned as Ron began to shovel spoonfuls of porridge into his mouth at an alarming rate. 

"Well, you should've made sure that I got up." He grabbed a mug full of milk and took a long gulp. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he glanced up across the table to see Hermione looking disgustedly at him. "What?" 

"I was just thinking how much you resembled a pig when you eat. Might as well throw all your food into a trough. How can you eat so fast?" 

"Easy, I'm fifteen, hungry, and late. I've developed a talent for eating without needing to breathe. But speaking of Pig, have the owls already delivered the morning ma…" 

SPLASH! 

Ron blinked in surprise and wiped his eyes. There, in the middle of his breakfast, sat Pigwidgeon who was hooting excitedly. The small owl shook his feathers, which sent more globs of porridge all over Ron. 

"Pig!" Grabbing a napkin that sat in a pile in the center of the Gryffindor eating table, Ron busily began to try and clean himself up. He looked up to see that Harry, Hermione, and pretty much the rest of the Gryffindors who were still eating breakfast trying to stifle hysterical laughter. "Oh, really, honestly, can't somebody help me clean off Pig? I'm really running late!" 

"Hey, Ron!" called out either Fred or George. "Fancy some owl with your porridge?" 

Giggling, Hermione grabbed a squirming Pigwidgeon and began to clean his feathers. "Ron, you have to admit its funny. I mean, the look on your face!" 

"Uh-huh. It's just hilarious. I love Pig splashing porridge all over me. Damn, I don't even have time to go and change robes!" moaned Ron as other students began to stand up and head towards their respective classes. 

"Well, you could just be late," Harry suggested as he helped Ron wipe off the sticky cereal, his green eyes twinkling. 

"Yeah. Right. Late for Transfiguration. McGonagall would have a cat. That's a good one Harry," stated Ron sarcastically. "I can't believe you aren't doing stand-up comedy in Hogsmeade." 

Harry piled the pile of porridge-covered napkins in the middle of the table, his mouth still twitching. "Well, I could always pair up with you and Pig, the Amazing Porridge-Covered Owl?" 

"You mean, the Formerly Porridge-Covered Owl." Hermione neatly said as she flung the now-clean Pigwidgeon up into the air. He flapped clumsily for a minute and then quickly soared out of the eating room, no doubt to head back to the Owlery. 

"Thanks Hermione," Ron said gratefully as he grabbed the satchel at his feet and stood up. Harry and Hermione followed suit and all three of them headed to Transfiguration together. They raced up the staircases, down the various hallways, and just managed to slide into their desks as McGonagall entered the room. 

"Good morning Gryffindors." Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the room and put her briefcase on top of the desk there. "Since I know you are all eager to impress me with the essay that I assigned last class, please get out your homework." She then began to circle around the room, picking up scrolls of parchment. 

Harry scrounged in his pack and pulled out a much-creased and wrinkled scroll. Hermione already had hers neatly sitting on her desk, the neat handwriting covering every last inch. Ron stuck his hand in his satchel and when it didn't find his homework, he stuck his head in. 

"Is there a problem, Weasley?" 

Ron pulled his head out and looked up to see McGonagall looking at him with a small frown on his face, the eyes behind her glasses flashing. "Um, Professor, it seems as if I left my essay in my room." He winced as her frown deepened. 

"Really, Weasley. Somehow, I'm not surprised. This is the third time in the past two weeks." McGonagall shook her head. As he stood up to go back to his dormitory to get it, she held out a stalling hand. "No, Weasley, you may not go back to your room to retrieve it. Not only will I take twenty points from Gryffindor but also you'll have that grade missing. Maybe that will help you remember to bring your work to class in the future!" With a sniff, she snatched up Harry and Hermione's essays and moved on. 

Lunch eventually arrived and Ron was glad of it. Transfiguration had been full of note taking and he had worn his quill near down to the nub. He flung himself down at the Gryffindor table and took five chicken sandwiches to eat. 

"What do you think of Professor Trelawney being gone this term?" Harry said as he sat down next to Ron. 

"I think it's a blessing," said Ron truthfully. "I mean, since there's no replacement professor, there's no Divination. No star charts, no crystal balls, no bloody predictions." 

"And remember, Professor Vector's gone as well with no substitute," said Hermione, her eyes deep in her Arithmancy book. "I can't believe that there are so many teachers missing this term. We do have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher though, big surprise. Professor Milkweed isn't too bad," she added in an offhand way, "but I still think Lupin was best." 

"Hermione," asked Ron, staring at her. "Why are you studying Arithmancy when you haven't got a class in it?" 

"Oh, I just want to go over what I've learned, look a bit ahead in the book. It never hurts to stay ahead." She ignored the look that passed between Harry and Ron that clearly said "she's nuts!" 

The rest of lunch passed blissfully without mishap. However, Potions was a disaster. Ron accidentally added his newt's blood before the river roots, which had caused his Blinding potion to explode all over the dungeon. Some students had temporarily lost their sight and Snape had been furious. Finally, when dinner rolled around, Ron sat with Harry and Hermione gloomily eating and complaining. 

"I swear," he muttered as he glared at his roast beef and mashed potatoes. "I cannot wait for this day to be over and done with already." 

Hermione sighed, flicking a page in the huge book situated in front of her. "Please, Ron, everyone has bad days." 

"That mean I can't complain about it then?" With a grimace, Ron shoved away his empty plate. "There should be some kind of rule, that you can't have bad luck for more than one day tops." 

Hermione just rolled her eyes but Harry pushed his bangs to the side as he looked sympathetically at Ron. "Hey, I know what'll make you feel better. How about a ride on my Firebolt tomorrow? We have that small break between lunch and Herbology. We could go to the Quidditch field and you could have a go." 

Ron sat up on the bench of the Gryffindor table and shot him a smile. "Thanks Harry. Sorry to complain Hermione," he added when she made faces. "It just seems like this is the latest in a stream of bad days. Things just haven't been going well for me since we came back to Hogwarts. It's almost as if I've been cursed." Twisting around, Ron stabbed a glare towards the Slytherin table, to Draco Malfoy in particular. 

"Oh, Ron, nobody has hexed you," Hermione said in a huff. "With all the added homework we've been getting, I don't think anybody could get a chance! Not even the Slytherins. And things haven't been that bad. You're exaggerating." 

Ron promptly turned back and transferred his glare to Hermione. 

"All right, all right, I'll shut up! Remind me never to talk to you when you're in this kind of mood again!" Hermione then turned all her attention to her dinner, pulling her Arithmancy book closer. 

After they had finished eating, all three had headed back to the Gryffindor common room. It was about half full of students, the rest undoubtedly at dinner or studying in the library. There was a low rumble of noise as other Gryffindors were busy doing homework, talking animatedly, or playing games of Exploding Snap. Hermione immediately claimed one of the available round tables and began to fling her books onto it. Reluctantly, Ron followed, remembering that they had a quiz in Charms the next day. Harry joined them and they began to study. 

Several hours later, Ron irritably closed his Charms textbook and shoved it into his satchel. "Well, that's it. I'm sick of studying for that quiz. What was that reading that Professor Sprout assigned for tomorrow?" 

Harry looked up from his Herbology textbook. "It's on Flesh Eating Venus plants. Specifically, their feeding." 

Ron looked through the pile of books on the table and sighed. "Guess my Herbology book is upstairs. Be back in a second." He got up and headed towards the boys dormitory. 

Halfway across the room, he bumped into a black-haired first year. She looked up at him with wide eyes, mumbling under her breath. Wondering what had gotten her bothered, he said "Sorry" and went up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. 

* * * * 

Ellie bumped into the tall, redheaded boy as she headed out of the common room. He said something to her as she gazed confusedly at him but she couldn't hear what he said over the constant chattering in her head, the ramblings and instructions. 

It had been so hard to concentrate lately. In the beginning, the voices had only been whispers, a slight murmuring. Easy to ignore in favor of her Magic studies. But the mutterings had grown with each passing day. Today it had been loud, so loud she could barely hear anything else. The words slithered around her head until she thought she'd go mad. However, she could understand what the words meant and they told her how to silence them. 

Walking to the entrance to the Gryffindor room, Ellie climbed out of the portrait hole and walked down the hall. She passed other students heading towards the common room. She even thought she heard one or two call out her name, the voices hissed and demanded she keep on task. 

Ellie walked, she knew not where. Her feet found a course all their own as she struggled to contain the insistent voices, the pounding in her head. She walked up and down stairs, down passageways. Very quickly, all other people disappeared as she went into the nether regions of the Hogwarts castle. 

Soon she arrived in a small, empty room. Her eyes blinked rapidly as her mumbling grew louder. The voices were now screaming, telling her what to do and she hurriedly moved to obey them. 

* * * * 

Ron turned over in his bed and glanced at the cloak on his bedside table. Two o'clock. He sighed and sat up, running a hand through his hair. He had been trying to sleep for the past two hours, but it hadn't been working. After finishing most of their homework, Harry and Ron had headed sleepily up to the dormitory, leaving Hermione still fussing over her essay. However, while Harry had fallen asleep almost instantly, Ron hadn't had the same luck. He had twisted and turned, tangled the sheets, and hadn't been able to stop his runaway thoughts. 

Giving up, Ron got out of bed and padded softly over to the one window in the fifth year boy's dormitory. There was a full moon and the silvery light poured through. He stepped into the light, leaned his elbows on the sill, and looked out over the Hogwarts grounds. It looked silent and slightly eerie. 

Ron knew precisely why he'd been forgetful lately. It had been hard to concentrate on things, with his thoughts chasing around in his head. It almost seemed that school was far away. And his thoughts centered mostly on what had happened last spring, on the evil that was looming over the wizarding community. 

Ron briefly looked at Harry who was sleeping the sleep of the dead. Ron wondered how Harry could seem so calm when You Know Who had risen and was at large in the world. If he had been in Harry's place, Ron would have found the deepest, darkest hole possible and stayed there. Heck, he was only Harry's best friend and he still wanted to find a deep hole and cower. 

That thought really troubled him. Harry had always been a target ever since he was a tiny baby. However, before it had always been Harry in trouble, Harry with the big X on his back. Now Ron realized that he was a target just by being Harry's friend. Really, anyone at the school could be targeted just because they attended the same school as Harry. And it was unnerving. It hadn't really bothered Ron much their first four years at school, even though he now realized that he had been in just as much danger then as now. But during those four years, nobody had died. Cedric Diggory's death had hit it home to Ron that many lives were in jeopardy, including his. 

It hadn't helped that the past summer had been exceedingly tense. Mum and Dad had been busy and white-faced most of the time, flying to secret meetings, getting Charlie or Bill to watch over him, Ginny, Fred and George. Ron knew that Dumbledore was doing his best to prepare himself and the school for the inevitable attack from You Know Who. Mum and Dad wouldn't say a word when Ron asked them what was going on but they had restricted all of the them to the Burrow and Mum would occasionally hug Ron fiercely for no good reason. If that wasn't a clear sign that things were getting bad, he didn't know what was. 

It wasn't that with the sudden danger that Ron didn't want to be Harry's friend. Ron would never even consider such a thing. But that didn't make him any less scared for his life and the lives of his friends. And while Harry was certainly very brave and had proved it on many occasions, Ron wasn't all that positive that he was as well. He was certain that if it had been him tied to that slab staring down You Know Who, he would've passed out from terror. 

There was also something else that was bothering Ron to no end. Nobody at Hogwarts acted as if anything was wrong, as if You Know Who hadn't come back. Now Ron knew that Fudge had suppressed what had happened at Hogwarts from the general wizarding world, but Dumbledore had told all the students what had happened to Cedric in the maze. They couldn't have forgotten, could they? Ron had expected the other students to be as worried as he was. When nobody had acted that way, he had felt even more cowardly. 

He sighed, leaned even more on the sill, and stuck his head out of the window. It was a breezeless night. Everything was still, even the Whomping Willow that Ron could just barely see. It was as if everything was frozen and Ron was the only one who could move. He shivered slightly, and pulled his head back inside. Firmly banishing his dark thoughts, Ron crawled back into bed and resolutely closed his eyes. 


	2. Familiar Surroundings

A/N: Yes, this is quite a short chapter. The next might be as short as well. Many apologies. If you feel like reviewing, go right ahead. Of course, whether anyone leaves a review is irrelevant. I'm going to keep writing anyways. But if you do review, don't bother being gentle. I can take it rough (the reviews, that is!) 

Disclaimer: Nothing in this belongs to me. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling who is neither a god or goddess, but a simple mortal. May we all follow her example. 

Never Is Enough - Chapter 2: Familiar Surroundings 

_"Distractions swirl about my head  
clotting up my thoughts into a jumble..."_

The next day, unfortunately, began much like the previous had. 

Ron awakened suddenly to realize that he had again overslept. Muttering about friends who let friends sleep late, he skidded into the main hall with enough time to grab a pile of toast. He was halfway through the stack when he saw that Hermione was looking at him. 

"What now?" he said irritably. 

"I was just thinking how much you resembled a pig when you eat. How can you eat so fast?" 

Ron frowned. "Yeah, well since you said that yesterday, I'm not even going to repeat myself. Oh, by the way..." 

Suddenly getting a strange feeling in his stomach, Ron looked up and just in time managed to scoop his breakfast off the table. Pigwidgeon landed with a thud right where his toast had been a moment earlier. 

"Honestly Pig, you've got to learn to land better." Discovering that the owl had no letters for him, Ron shooed him away and gulped the rest of the toast down. He, Harry, and Hermione quickly got up and went to Charms. 

The class started off much better than Transfiguration had the previous day. He had managed to remember his Charms homework but that didn't help him for the rest of class. His attempt at the Self-Levitation test had failed miserably; he had slammed into the ceiling and fallen to the ground in a heap. Points had been taken off his grade, after Professor Flitwick had determined that he was all right. Fortunately a couple of other students had misperformed the spell much like he had, so Ron didn't feel quite so badly. 

At lunch, Ron sat and eagerly watched Hermione and Harry finish their turkey sandwiches. They had a break before Herbology and Harry had promised that Ron could fly his Firebolt for a bit. 

"Honestly," Hermione huffed, "can't you calm down just a bit?" She shot a glance at his rapidly tapping fingers. 

"Sorry," Ron hastily said and absentmindedly began to tap his foot against the floor. He didn't often get to try out Harry's magnificent broom, due to their steadily increasing workload, and he relished every chance that he got. 

"Well, I'm done," Harry said, wiping crumbs off his front. "Hermione, why don't Ron and I go ahead? You can meet us outside." 

At Hermione's distracted nod, Harry and Ron stood up to get the Firebolt and go outside. Unfortunately at the moment, a sudden boom cracked and the sound of a thousand raindrops hitting the roof echoed through the hall. 

"Oh..." Ron groaned, the sentiment echoed by others. Apparently he and Harry weren't the only ones planning to take advantage of the good weather. "Oh damn, Harry. I can't believe it started to rain now!" 

Harry's face had fallen as well. He slowly sat back down as the pounding over their heads proved that it would not be stopping soon. 

"Damn," muttered Ron again as he sank back down to the bench. Hermione looked up from her book, pity warring with satisfaction on her face. Ron knew exactly what Hermione was going to say before she said it. 

"Well, you can get a bit more studying in now. I mean, after that Charms test, I think you need to work a bit more on..." 

"Hermione, I don't need to hear this," growled Ron as he sulkily reached for a turkey sandwich from one of the big silver platters. 

"All right! I'll shut up! I'll be in the library since its clear that you'd rather die than be prepared for class!" She gave Ron a dirty look and stuffed her book into her bag. Before he could say anything to her, she left. 

Ron was too depressed to follow and apologize. Harry looked just as down as he felt. Lunch passed in relative silence and the break did as well. Ron didn't get any studying done as he listened to the storm above their heads. Harry left after a while, presumably to see Hedwig in the Owlery. 

After break, the Gryffindors ran out to Herbology in waterproof cloaks and rubber boots. Their lessons, now as fifth years, had become incredibly more complex. They were now dealing with plants that were much more dangerous. This term had begun with the raising and care of Flesh-Eating Venus Plants. 

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed from the next table as one of the baby Venus connected with his fingers. In the beginning, the plant's teeth had been small and hadn't hurt. However, they had grown some in two weeks and their playful bites now hurt. 

Ron managed to shove his bottle of warmed blood into his Venus' mouth without getting nicked. It sucked eagerly, and he struggled to find something to say to Hermione who was working with him at their table. She still looked a bit miffed as she held her bottle to the mouth of her Venus. 

"Uh, Hermione?" She looked his way, her eyebrows drawn together. "Sorry...for earlier?" 

She sighed. "It's all right Ron. I'm just irritable. Didn't have a good night's rest I guess." 

Ron still shook his head. "No, I've no right to get upset with you anyway. You can't control that it's raining." He threw a quick glance out of the greenhouse at the wet, wet world. 

Hermione followed his glance. "Maybe it'll clear up by tomorrow? You can fly Harry's broom during the break then." 

Ron sighed. "We don't have break tomorrow Hermione. We have double Potions, remember?" His Venus had finished with the bottle and was now tearing the rubber nib. He pulled it roughly out of its mouth. 

"Oh, right." 

"Well, maybe this weekend. The frigging rain should stop by then, I would think." 

* * * * 

Dinner was relatively normal. Harry and Hermione chattered about Quidditch and the upcoming season, while Ron thought about nothing in particular. Even though school had only been going on for two weeks, Madame Hooch had already determined the slate of games. Gryffindor's first game was to be against Hufflepuff. 

"Harry, who do you suppose will be their new captain?" Hermione said carefully. Most students at Hogwarts tried to avoid Cedric's name as much as possible. Ron pricked up his ears; he was interested in knowing this as well. 

"Hmm, don't know," answered Harry absently. "There are a couple of fifth or sixth years that could do. But we won't know until they have their tryouts, you know that Hermione!" 

"Well, yes." She paused, a wary look on her face. "And when are the Gryffindor tryouts?" 

Harry dropped his fork of chicken with a clatter. "I'm NOT trying out for captain!" 

"Did I say that? I didn't say you were! Its just...well...Harry, why don't you want to be captain?" The curiosity on Hermione's face was plain. 

"I just don't want to be. I have enough to do without that responsibility. Besides, I don't think I'd be that good of a captain. I don't know tactics like Wood did, and I'd look stupid trying to imitate him." Harry screwed up his face and reluctantly picked up his fork. 

"But Harry," Hermione persisted, "You surely know that everyone expects you to be captain. I mean, you're the Seeker and a fifth year." 

"Yes," grumbled Harry. "And they'll be horribly disappointed when I don't try out for the position. But I don't care. I'm not going to try out for captain just to make people happy!" As if to prove his point, he jammed a fork full of chicken and mashed potatoes in his mouth and nearly choked. 

Ron slapped his back as Harry spat the chicken out and regained his breath. "Hey Hermione, I just don't want to talk about it, okay?" 

"Well, okay," she said doubtfully. 

They fell into silence and Ron listened to the rain, which was still beating down unmercilessly. "Geez, this storm is still coming down. I wonder if its going to be done by tomorrow?" 

"I hope it is," mumbled Harry from around his dinner. "We can go flying during break then." 

Ron let out an exasperated sigh. "What, are you guys trying to trick me or something? Hey, I may not be the smartest but I do know that we don't have break tomorrow! So you can just stop trying to confuse me, alright?" 

Harry looked surprised. "I wasn't trying to trick you! I just...well...forgot." 

After dinner, they headed to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione immediately requisitioned a table and began emptying her book satchel onto it. Ron followed her and began to resignedly work on the essay that McGonagall had assigned the class the previous day. 

He'd been working for a while before Ron noticed that Harry was reading his Herbology textbook. "Harry, you reading about the Venus' growing patterns already? You're done with the essay that McGonagall assigned?" 

"What essay?" said Harry back distractedly. "I'm reading about feeding the Venus'." 

Frowning, Ron looked over at Hermione. She had her Charms textbook before her, opened to the page of Self-Levitating Charms. "Hermione, why are you reading about Self-Levitation? We already had the quiz!" 

She looked at him, her brown eyes a little cloudy. "Oh...yeah. I guess I just want to read a little more on them. Never know when Self-Levitation will come in handy..." 

"Have you done your essay then, already? The one on the ethics of Transfiguration for McGonagall?" 

"I..." Hermione paused. "I don't think I have yet. But I've got the rest of the night. I really want to read more about Charms." She then buried her nose into the book. 

Wondering if his friends had cracked under the workload that their professors had assigned them, Ron decided to let things be and finished his essay. 


	3. 

A/N: Hello again! Many apologies that this chapter is rather...er...short. The next should be a bit longer. Anyways, enjoy! 

Oh, and many thanks to my two betas Jane and Gwena...you guys are great! 

Disclaimer: Nothing in this belongs to me. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling who is neither a god or goddess, but a simple mortal. May we all follow her example. 

Never Is Enough - Chapter 3: Second Verse, Same as the First 

_"My mouth fills with unconscious ramblings..."_

Ron sat in Charms, not listening to Professor Flitwick give his lecture, not even attempting to take notes. He sat in a kind of stupor, staring at his fellow Hogwarts students, staring at Harry and Hermione who had become other people. Ron's world had been turned upside down and he didn't quite know what to do. 

The day had begun differently from the previous two. The storm had still been raining down when Ron had actually managed to wake up on time; early in fact. None of the other boys had been awake when he had slipped out to the boy's bathroom. He had also been one of the first students down to breakfast in the Great Hall. Enjoying the extra time, Ron had begun a big breakfast and listened to the steady patter of the raindrops on the castle roof. 

Eventually, the Great Hall filled up and Harry and Hermione had appeared. 

"Good morning!" Ron said cheerfully feeling truly awake for the first time in weeks. 

They didn't answer, didn't even glance in his direction. Both sat down wearily and began to eat their breakfast. Figuring that both were exhausted from studying so late the previous evening, Ron left them alone. 

Harry and Hermione concentrated on their food; therefore, breakfast was mainly silent. As Ron was finishing the last of his eggs, Hermione suddenly looked up at Ron and made a face. "I was just thinking how much you resembled a pig when you eat. How can you eat so fast?" 

Ron stared at her, the forkful of egg frozen halfway to his mouth. He put down the fork and looked at her. "Hermione, you've really got to come up with better insults. You've overused that one!" 

However, before Hermione could say anything back, Pig appeared out of nowhere and swan-dived into his eggs. 

"Pig!" exclaimed Ron out of complete surprise. On cue, the Gryffindors who had noticed what had happened began to giggle. 

"Hey, Ron!" called out Fred (or was it George?). "Fancy some owl with your porridge?" 

Ron swiveled his head and stared at his brother. "But I'm having eggs for breakfast!" He turned back to see that Hermione was busily wiping the egg yolk off of Pig. 

"There. Now he's the Formerly Porridge-Covered Owl." She took a last swipe at the feathers and neatly flung the small owl up into the air. He fluttered clumsily for a moment and then flew away. 

"Hermione, you were cleaning off eggs, not porridge!" Ron said desperately, staring at his friend. However, she didn't answer and both Harry and Hermione stood to leave for class. They paused a moment and turned to look at Ron. 

"Well?" said Harry, one of his eyebrows lifted. 

Severely confused, Ron grabbed his book satchel and stood up. He followed them both as they went up the staircases. At first he didn't recognize where they were going but when they passed a familiar suit of armor he pulled up short. 

"Hey, Harry, Hermione, we're headed in the wrong direction! We have Transfiguration today. If you go that way, we'll be going to..." 

Ron paused as Harry and Hermione opened the Charms door and went inside. 

"...Charms?" Ron shook his head, uncertain as to what to do. The other fifth year Gryffindors were streaming around him, entering Flitwick's classroom, seemingly unconcerned that they were supposed to be heading for McGonagall's classroom. 

"Well, you're not going to fool me then!" muttered Ron and he turned around and headed towards Transfiguration. He didn't bother to hurry, for while he was going to be late, the rest of the class was going to be later. 

Pulling open McGonagall's door, he entered into a classroom full of Hufflepuff first years. He stopped in surprise. Professor McGonagall didn't stop her lesson (turning pencils into straws) but she glared at Ron. 

He stood there for a few unsteady moments. Slowly, the rest of the class turned and began to frown. Before long, he was under the gaze of about thirty pairs of angry eyes. Taking the unspoken hint, Ron backed carefully out of the room into the empty hallway. The entire time, McGonagall never let up on her lecture. 

Not knowing what to do again, Ron headed back to Charms. He stopped outside of the door and listened as Flitwick began to talk about their quiz for the class period. He opened the door to find that yet another teacher was glaring at him. 

"Sorry," said Ron but Flitwick didn't stop his instructions. He didn't do anything differently until Ron sat down. Then the furious look that Flitwick was shooting him disappeared and he looked normal. At this point, Ron was sure that he had lost it. 

The quiz had gone exactly as the day before. Even Ron had performed the same way as the previous day he was so flustered. Professor Flitwick, predictably, had made sure he was okay after knocking his head on the ceiling and then had subtracted points from his grade. Going to his desk, Ron sat and slumped in bewilderment. 

After finishing the quiz, Flitwick had launched into the same lecture he had given the day before. It was like another world. Word for word, gesture for gesture, the Charms professor was repeating everything. When he looked around, Ron saw that no one else found this strange. 

Summoning up all his courage, Ron stood up. "Professor, please, you taught us about variations on Fire Charms yesterday! You're giving the same lecture!" 

Professor Flitwick merely glowered at Ron and continued. "...And of course there is the cold variation on the Fire Charm. The flames are usually a light purple but still malleable..." 

"Professor, please stop! Is this some sort of joke?" 

As Flitwick spoke right over Ron, the rest of the class (even Harry and Hermione) began to look angrily at Ron. Defeated, Ron slowly sank back down into his seat and sat silently for the rest of the lesson. 

After class, Ron walked with Harry and Hermione to the Great Hall for lunch. He sat and quickly noticed that lunch was turkey sandwiches, the same as yesterday. He ate slowly, gazing warily at his two friends. They began the same conversation, making spaces for Ron's dialogue even when Ron didn't speak. 

"Honestly," Hermione said, daintily eating her sandwich, "can't you calm down just a bit?" She shot a glance at Ron's hand that wasn't tapping or doing anything unusual. It was just holding a sandwich. 

"Hermione, I am calm," Ron said quietly. 

"Well, I'm done," Harry said, wiping crumbs off his front. "Hermione, why don't Ron and I go ahead? You can meet us outside." 

"Harry, can't you hear that it's raining outside? It's been raining since yesterday afternoon!" Ron said rather desperately, forgetting his sandwich and grabbing Harry's wrist. 

Harry shook it off as Hermione nodded in response. He stood up but paused before leaving. His eyes traveled to the ceiling and his face fell. On cue, groans echoed around the Great Hall and Harry slowly sank back to his seat. Ron turned to Hermione and waited for her to poke her nose in. 

"Well, you can get a bit more studying in now. I mean, after that Charms test, I think you need to work a bit more on..." 

She paused and listened for Ron's retort that he couldn't bring himself to make. After waiting a second or two she said, "All right! I'll shut up! I'll be in the library since its clear that you'd rather die than be prepared for class!" She gave Ron a dirty look and stuffed her book into her bag. He watched mournfully as she swept off in a huff. 

Later when Harry went to the Owlery, Ron followed. He tried to send a message to someone, to anyone through an owl; however, none of the owls would even acknowledge his presence. What spell had been cast was clearly affecting all living things in the castle. As he left the Owlery, Ron wondered vaguely what people were thinking, getting the same owl posts day after day from the same students. 

The rest of the day continued just like the one before. Everything repeated. Conversations, classes, even meals. Whenever Ron tried to point this out to anyone, they either ignored him or looked like they were about to kill him. After suffering fatal glares from his best friends, Ron didn't even bother to try to interrupt the rest of the day. 

Obviously something was wrong, very wrong. Ron didn't know what to do. 

The next day he woke up, hoping that the previous had been a nightmare. However, when Harry and Hermione showed up for breakfast, they continued with the same routine, same conversations. He spent the lecture part of Charms thinking seriously about what to do. Finally, he came to some conclusions. He couldn't discover what was happening on his own. He didn't know what spell had been cast or how to lift it. He needed more knowledge and he needed to do some heavy-duty research in the library. 

What he needed was Hermione. 


	4. Hermione

A/N: Bleh! I had the hardest time writing this chapter. Actually, I had the hardest time writing the second half. The first wasn't bad at all. Anyways, I do not like this story as much as when I first came up with it. I'll probably try and finish it, but it just may not be very good. I happen to think that "What A Good Girl" is a hundred times more interesting, but you're welcome to read this if you want. 

If you'd like to review and tell me where I went wrong, you're more than welcome. If you'd like to flame me, I've no problems with that either. If I collect enough flames, I plan to turn them in for a new toaster. 

By the way, thanks to everyone who *has* reviewed thus far. I'd mention everybody by name but am just too darned tired right now. Next chapter, I promise. 

Disclaimer: Nothing in this belongs to me. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling who is neither a god nor goddess, but a simple mortal. May we all follow her example. 

Never Is Enough - Chapter Four: Hermione 

_"When I was asleep and completely blind,  
you woke me up  
and pulled me through  
so I could see the light too..."  
_

Ron debated on how to try and jolt Hermione out of her repetition. He had no idea what spell had been cast and didn't want to accidentally turn her into a frog. Finally, after dithering about it, he decided that physically tackling her was the safest technique to try. 

That next day, Ron followed Hermione after a tired lunch of sandwiches. He kept close to her in the hallway to the library, ignored completely by Hermione of course. As they neared the library, Ron got a clear shot at her. 

Promising himself to apologize to her later, Ron flung himself on Hermione, knocking her clear off her feet and scattering her books. Before Hermione could do anything, he wrenched her upright and flung her into an empty classroom. He followed her in, closed the door, and blocked it with his body. Turning, he found her already up and glaring knives. 

"Who are you? What are you doing? I've got to get to the library!" Hermione's brown eyes were frantic. She ran a nervous hand through her hair. 

"Hermione, it's me, Ron!" entreated Ron, not daring to move from away the door. "I'm one of your best friends, remember?" 

"Ron? Ron? I know no Ron! OUT OF MY WAY! I'M LATE!" Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs and lunged at him. 

Scared out of his mind, Ron wrestled with Hermione as she tried to physically remove him from the door. When that failed, she quickly resorted to kicking, biting, and scratching to move him. 

Praying he wasn't hurting her, Ron grabbed Hermione by the shoulders tightly and threw her to the ground. He pinned her arms flat to the floor while the rest of his body kept her legs from kicking. She shrieked and for a minute did her level best to throw him off her. Things were difficult for a bit; Ron was surprised that Hermione was so strong. 

Finally she stopped struggling and resorted to glaring at him and hissing, "Get off me now and I won't hurt you." 

"Hermione, I can't do that. You have to remember me! Shake this spell off, I know you can do it!" said Ron, rather desperately. 

"I don't know you," she said flatly, her eyes alien. "I'm late for the library. I have to get there…" 

Seeing an opening, Ron took it. "And why do you need to go to the library so badly?" he interrupted. 

"I..." Hermione stopped to think about it. "...I have to study!" she finished triumphantly. "Now let me up!" 

"Study for what?" persisted Ron. 

"Study...study...study for an exam!" 

"What exam?" 

Hermione spat in Ron's face. "Charms! What do you care? It doesn't matter! I need to be there!" 

Ron didn't dare remove an arm to wipe the spit off his face. "Hermione, think. You took that exam two…days…ago!" He gave her a little shake with each of the last three words. 

"What are you..." Hermione paused. Her eyebrows drew together as she thought. "I…" Suddenly she looked up supremely confused. The fighting tension in her body slowly left, as she thought about what he said. 

"Remember, Hermione? We took it together. The Self-Levitating charm? You performed it flawlessly! You got top marks! I slammed into the ceiling! Remember?" 

"But I...that happened?" 

"Hermione, think! You know that happened." 

"Well, yes, I..." Hermione's eyes cleared and she gazed at Ron with sudden comprehension. "Ron?" 

"Hermione!" Relieved, he released her arms to embrace her energetically on the floor. "Hermione, you're awake!" 

"Ron, let me up!" came a muffled yelp from beneath him. Quickly Ron rolled off Hermione and scrambled to his feet. She did likewise and he flung his arms around her again. 

"Ron!" Reluctantly, Ron removed his arms. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes, her hair and robes mussed. "What's been happening? What's been going on? I…the past few days…" 

"Have been like a dream? Have been awfully familiar?" Pulling her over to a table and chairs, they sat down and Ron told her what was going on. Hermione didn't try to interrupt for once as she listened intently. 

"Everyone in the castle is acting like this? Everyone is...repeating?" asked Hermione incredulously. 

"It sure seems so. I mean, you were off to the library to study for a Charms quiz, something you've done for the past two days." Ron said as he ran a hand through his red hair. "Everyone just repeats the same actions, conversations that they had the day before." 

"Well, why weren't you affected?" 

Ron stared at her, surprise. "I...I don't know. You know, I didn't think of that before!" He blinked in sudden confusion. "Why wasn't I affected?" 

Hermione considered this briefly and then shook her head regretfully. "Well, I have no idea and I couldn't even begin to guess. But maybe we should worry about that when we've...um…wakened everyone else in the castle up. I'm sure one of the professors could answer that question for us. We should start tackling people, right?" 

"What?" Ron's mouth fell open. "Shouldn't we go to the library? And figure out the spell that was put on Hogwarts?" 

"Well, no." Hermione said, staring at Ron as if he'd grown another head. "Who cares what was cast! We know how to snap people out of it, just tackle them and talk sense like you did to me. By the way, I want an apology for knocking me to the floor!" 

Ron's mouth snapped shut and he gave a small grin. "Well, bloody hell. I'm glad you're smarter than me, Hermione. I was all set for an all-nighter in the library, losing my sight trying to read small print." 

Hermione grinned back. "So, that's why you woke me up and not Harry. Because you wanted me to do all the research and work like usual." 

"Well, I figured since you were used to it…" he stopped as she mock slapped him. "But your plan is better and faster. What do you say we go and wake up a professor first? Flitwick's small and might have an idea of what was cast on the castle." 

"Sounds like a very good idea." Hermione stood up and walked with Ron to the classroom door. "After you!" 

Ron opened the door and took one step; then he turned back around, shoved Hermione back in the classroom and quickly shut the door. He grabbed Hermione by the shoulder and pushed her towards one of the tables. 

"What are you doing?" Hermione yelped as he pressed her into one of the seats and pulled several books out of her book satchel hurriedly. 

Ron flung the Charms book in front of her. "Death Eaters," he hissed and sat down with a Transfiguration textbook and opened it. 

Just as he did that, the door creaked opened. Ron looked resolutely at the book, praying that Lucius Malfoy and the other dark-robed man would move on. 

There was a brief silence and then, "Lucius, this room is mostly clear. Just two students studying, we shouldn't bother them and they won't bother us." 

Cursing himself, that he had to pick a room that Lucius wanted to use, Ron forced himself to actively read the "Care of Magical Creatures" textbook in front of him. But he pricked up his ears to hear what Lucius Malfoy had to say; he was sure that Hermione was doing the same. 

Ron heard footsteps and the hinges of the door squeak as the door was closed. "Thank bloody goodness. Somewhere quiet for a change. Is the castle secure, Killian?" 

"It appears to be, Lucius. Of course, we can't tell for certain if everyone is under the spell." 

"Well, the teachers are at least. When we dismantled the warning wards, they should've been aware of that. But nobody has raised alarm in the castle. It seems as if the curse is working properly." 

The other man chuckled. "And so the plan now is to find Harry Potter?" 

Ron stiffened involuntarily and forced himself to relax. 

"Yes. I imagine that he's in class somewhere in the castle. Unfortunately, there's not as many Death Eaters here as I would like. I want you to split them up. Half of them are to go to the Gryffindor common room. The other half are to roam the castle and find the Potter boy. When they do, have them report to me directly in the Great Hall. They can use any methods necessary to subdue him, but he has to be alive and unharmed." Lucius snorted. "The sooner we get him, the sooner we can leave this place." 

"Understood." There were footsteps and Killian left the room. Lucius Malfoy stayed, saying nothing. Ron's heart leapt in his throat. 

The man sighed and walked over to their table. Gripping the side of his chair, Ron tried to ignore the pounding in his ears and tried to comprehend the words his eyes were flicking over. _The best way to care for flobberworms is to leave them entire alone as that's when they best thrive..._

"Can you hear me?" Ron was barely able to suppress his flinch as Lucius said this right in his ear. "I guess not. It's a shame that we're not allowed to do anything killing now; everyone would be sitting ducks. But I wouldn't disobey Him unless I knew it would work out to my advantage." 

Lucius left the table and walked to the door. "You'd better hope that the Dark Lord doesn't change his mind. You wouldn't know what hit you." And with that, Lucius Malfoy left. 

There was uneasy silence and then Hermione let out a long breath. "Well, that was…interesting. Do you think he knew that we weren't under the spell?" 

Ron slowly closed his book and met her worried eyes. "I'm not sure. Why say what he did if it wasn't a warning? I didn't know that Malfoy's talked to themselves." 

"What can we do about this?" 

"I don't know. Ask him to please leave the castle and everyone alone?" 

Hermione shot Ron a glare. "Seriously Ron. Lucius Malfoy may know that we're not stuck in a loop like everyone else in the castle." 

Ron stood. "Well, I don't think that's what's most important right now. I think we need to find Harry and find him fast." 

Hermione's eyes widened and she stood up as well. "Good point. Very good point." She went to the door and poked her head out. "Well, the hall's clear. What do you say we go get Harry?"   
  



End file.
